North and South Korea plan new talks on Kaesong industrial complex

North and South Korea will hold new talks on reopening the Kaesong industrial complex on August 14th, after the North agreed to lift a ban on factory operations at the facility.

In a statement made by the North Korean Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea, the DPRK appeared to guarantee that it would not shutter the facility again if tensions between the two nations came to a head again, writes the Associated Press, calling its own offer "bold and magnanimous."

Further, North and South agreed to hold a new round of working-level talks on August 14th regarding re-opening the facility, which has been shuttered for four months after the North pulled 53,000 workers out from the site.

The South has demand an assurance that the facility not be closed without noticed, a condition the North appears to have finally met.

The olive branch coms not long after Southern officials warned that time was running out to re-open the once profitable facility — even going so far as offering to compensate South Korean companies that operated there, according to the Voice of America.

"Seoul views the latest talks proposal as the North responding to repeated calls for dialogue from Seoul," ministry spokesman Kim Hyung-suk said to Yonhap. "We hope the North will engage in dialogue in an earnest manner that can contribute to the constructive growth of the complex." he added.

"Seoul accepted the latest CPRK proposal because it did not blame the South for the current impasse and did not make warnings of future arbitrary closures, which had been the North's stance in the past," said a South Korean ministry insider to Yonhap of the decision.

While you are here...

The work we do has never been more important — whether it’s because of “news” that might not be news at all or healing the deep divides in our country. Now more than ever, we need conversation, perspective and diverse voices. Will you support PRI in our efforts to create a more informed empathetic world?